The concept of skill-based matchmaking has not been completely eliminated, but in the first release, skirmishes will use a matchmaking system like that of Company Battles. In this context "similar" refers to other clans who are playing the same level of Skirmishes (medium, champion, absolute).

No offense but I'm not really looking for guesses. They also make clear in the vid that there is only one resource and the level you play (med/champ/abs) in Raid mode will determine the amount of each resource you can earn. But the resource is the universal 'industrial points'.

The only question I had is what that 'similar' means. It hints at skill based matchmaking but there are certainly different approaches that WG could take to achieve that. They could use individuals in the clan, individuals playing in that particular battle, or they could use a clan based ranking MM either derived from results in this mode or by external clan data/activity like CW, number of TX tanks, etc.

Can I built a stronghold level 99, and then drop members count to 14 so no one could attack me?

Strongholds only go up to level 10 (however only up to 4 in the first release version). You can be attacked after you reach level 5 or higher, regardless of how many players are in your clan at the time.

Is there sufficient incentive to get clans to actually participate in these skirmishes, because Tank companies have been for the most part have been dead/ abysmal on the U.S. server for some time now.

There is. Each Skirmish battle will provide your clan with the Strongholds currency, known as "Industrial Resource". When you build up this industrial resource, clans can develop "Reserves", which are basically boosts to your earnings in all types of battles (including random battles). Industrial Resource also allows you to level up your structures, which makes your Reserves give you bigger boosts. You can use the Reserves whenever your clan decides will be most beneficial to you. To see a full list of the Reserves that are available, see this page (about 2/3 of the way down).

To put it simply, by doing well in Skirmish battles and improving your Stronghold, you can make XP, Credit, and Crew XP grinding go much faster.

Is it possible to have a list of all the bonus available ? I saw something close to "+8% free xp per battle" in the ASAP video.

To see a full list of the Reserves that are available, see this page (about 2/3 of the way down). The effectiveness of these bonuses is based on the level of the corresponding. Higher levels obviously will yield more effective Reserves.

Q: will it reward extra gold,xp, credits, and/or a new type of resource from random battles with the "bonuses"?

A: Strongholds reward a new currency called "Industrial Currency". It can be used to a) Create "Reserves", which are boosts to things like XP, Free XP, Credits, Crew XP... and b) level-up your stronghold to improve the effectiveness of these Reserves.

Q: will it play (ish) like a "tower defense" style game?

A: There is an aspect of it that can be seen as similar to tower defense, but that isn't the entirety of this game mode. While the fact that you try to defend your base is similar in concept, that's really the only point to tower defense games. In Strongholds, you're fighting other clans to gain a new type of currency to get better rewards for your clan. Instead of the game ending and all being lost after one side loses the battles, you'll be able to continue on without restarting from nothing.

Q: im confused about whether it is single player, time shifted multiplayer, or what.

A: It's multi-player. You earn your clan's resources by battling other clans. In the future, when you are able to raid other clans' Strongholds, you will be able to set what time you want as your Clan's daily defense window.

Q: do you play on a map (1st-3rd person) or with the birds eye view?

like this:

Spoiler

or like this:

Spoiler

or will the game-play include both aspects?

A: Battles take place in-game, and management of your clan's Stronghold takes place on the interface shown in the video.

Q: will there be less lagg/ping/microfreezes due to less people playing and small maps?

Your clan's commander is able to set your defense time. It will be a one-hour window. You can attack other clans whenever their battle windows are active.

Do both clans have to be online concurrently? Or not?

Asking because of timing issues... not every clan plays at 'prime time'.

Yes, both clans must be on at the same time. The battle takes place within the defender's pre-chosen defense period. The attacker will know when this time is when they are attacking the other clan (if they're paying attention, anyway).

Can you explain in greater detail how the 'mine fields' & pill boxes will operate in Stronghold mode?

Is this for a type of an NPC mode versus attackers, if a given Clan is offline?

They will be implemented as "Combat Consumables". Clans will be able to develop them for use in battle alongside their own players. These are scheduled for the 3rd update of this game mode, so nothing is final yet.

What are the requirements to being able to log in to the test server? Do you have to have so many battles or have at least one battle in before the test starts?

If not, then our CO is having issues logging in.

A: The only requirement is that his account must have been created before June 16. For a clan to show up on that server, it must have also been created before June 16. If you have changed your password since then, the old password would be the one that works on the test server.